PICASSO 

Pablo Picasso - Portrait of Dora Maar

portrait of the real Dora Maar artist photographer and muse - Man Ray

A recent biographic programme on TV [Picasso's Last Stand- BBC] put me back in touch with the work and life of Picasso. Now Picasso is one of those figures in art that I tended to take for granted. A force of nature he is an undoubted master of his art. Towards the end of his  life he was listed as being extremely wealthy largely because of how many Picasso's he owned!! His legendary relationships with the opposite sex are a challenge but with much interview material with his biographer John Richardson (by then in his 90's) Picasso came over as extremely human, full of doubt at times and sudden flashes of lack of self confidence. Threatened at times by the Abstract Expressionism of America he began to falter in his style and fell ill. By the time he recovered he suddenly entered an Indian Summer of his production and went to his grave having produced more large scale works and in my view some of his best work. All phases of his life; the Rose period, the Blue period, the Cubist period etc etc all went to reaffirm what I had always know and always admired, he simply was 'PICASSO' the unique and masterful artist without peer or equal. 

Oh and for those smart-alecs who always claim the features are all in the wrong place and joke about Picasso's distorted views don't assume he couldn't draw.

Portrait of La Scala master of ballet, 1925, Pablo Picasso

perhaps my favourite Picasso - 'Guernica' - in response to the Spanish Civil War

rolling out the finished work

Richardson revealed an endearing detail which was that Pablo carried with him the news clipping of Van Gogh's death in his wallet. A lifelong admirer it would seem, one associates Picasso as beyond such things or rather singular in his ego driven status. Not someone perhaps given to admire the work of others. Nothing could be further from the truth. A deeply sensitive man sometimes vulnerable always loving and caring towards others but consumed by the desire to create.

Vincent - Self Portrait

Van Gogh - the last painting